According to a March 8 WBEZ report, the local branch of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency “quietly stopped transferring Mexico-bound detainees to a processing center in west suburban Broadview. Instead, it is now taking those individuals to the Kankakee County Detention Center, which is nearly 70 miles south of Chicago.”

An ICE spokesperson said that the change, which went into effect last week, was made in order to “make better use of ICE resources.”

WBEZ reports that the move was in the works “month before the November election,” in order to make way for the increasing number of deportations experienced under former president Barack Obama’s administration.